Improvement in toy guns



l. B. Ms H ARE.

Toy-Gun.

Patented May11,1875

HE GRAPHIC C0.PHO O -L!TH.39&.4-l PARK PLACEN-Y.

JOHN B. MCHARG, OF ROME, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOY GUNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 163,023, dated May 11,1875; application filed March 3, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. MOHARG, of Rome, Oneida county, State of NewYork, have invented an Improvement in Toy Guns, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part thereof.

Figure 1 is a side view of a wooden toy gun containing my invention.Fig. 2 is a similar view of the opposite side of the same. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal section of a metal bracket, (on a large scale,) which, inFigs. 1 and 2, is fixed on the end of what represents the barrel of thegun, and to which is attached a blank-cartridge holder and a triangularpiece of metal for exploding the cartridge.

My invention relates to a toy gun made, principally, of wood,forfiringblank cartridges or percussion-caps; and consists in thecombination, in such gun, of parts hereinafter particularly described.

A is a piece of wood fashioned into the form of a gun, a part of therear of the stock being broken off. It may be made of any desired size,preferably, as I have found in practice,

about eighteen inches or two feet in length,

and, say, three-fourths of an inch thick. B is a spring, preferably,also, of wood, secured at its rear end to the under side of whatrepresents the breech end of the barrel, leaving the opposite end ofsaid spring free to vibrate. Near the forward end of this spring is madean aperture through it, in which is inserted a metal tube or thimble,shown in dotted lines at G. D is an eccentric lever, pivoted, as shown,on the side of the barrel, near the front end. Directly under the leveris a stud or pin, E, so arranged with relation to the lever D that whenthe latter is swung into the position shown by the dotted lines theunder curved edge of the lever will impinge against the said pin, andthus flex the spring B, and push it forward and away from thegun-barrel, as shown by dotted lines F. G is a catch-lever, pivoted onthe side of the barrel oppositeto the lever D. Immediately below thislever G is a pin or stud, H, and on the outer end of the said lever G isa notch, the parts being so constructed and arranged that when thespring B is bent at its forward end away from the barrel A by the leverD, as before described,

and the catch-lever G is swung into the position shown in the fulllines, the said notch will engage with the pin H and hold the spring Bflexed, while the lever D is swung back to its position indicated by thefull lines. I is a wire, rod, or string attached to the lever G, therear end having, preferably, a loop, 70, as shown, near the rear end ofthe barrel, in reach of the hand holding the gun. Immediately over thethimble 0 there is inserted in the under side of the barrel an anvil, J,which is preferably a thin strip of metal set in the wood, andpresenting its outer edge a little beyond the surface of the wood. Thiswill insure the explosion of the cartridge or cap.

To operate this toy the spring B is set by swinging the lever D into theposition shown. by the dotted lines, and the lever G into the positionshown by the full lines. A flanged, headed, and primed blank metalliccartridge, such as are commonly used in small pistols, is then insertedin the thimble O, with the head between the spring B and the barrel A.It is now ready for firing. By the finger in the loop 70 the lever G iswithdrawn from its engagement with the pin H, when the recoil of thespring B will carry the cartridge with a sharp blow against the anvil Jand explode it.

A modification of this toy consists in fixing the thimble G, in amodified form, to the end of the barrel, providing what may be called afiring-lever, to be struck and carried against the cartridge by therecoil of the spring B. For this purpose I fix upon theforward end ofthe barrel a thimble-holder, P, which may be a socket or tube, or,preferably, such a bracket as is represented by Fig. 3. In the end L ismade an aperture, provided with a female screw, into which is screwedthe thimble M. N is a triangular firing-lever, pivoted at one angle, asshown, in one arm of the bracket, so constructed and arranged that whenswung into the position shown by the dotted lines the angle a will dropbelow the under surface of the barrel, where it may be struck by thespring B in its recoil, forcing the opposite angle b with a sharp blowagainst the head of the cartridge inserted in the thimble M, as shown. Aslot is cut in the barrel to receive the firing-lever N. Io load thethiinble M it is screwed out from the bracket L, the cartridge insertedin its rear end, and then replaced. This modification may, by some, bepreferred.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a toy gun, the combination of the stock and barrel A and thespring B, having the thimble (J, as and for the purpose described.

2. In a toy gun, the combination of the stock and barrel A, the springB, and the eccentric pivoted lever D, as and for the purpose described.

3. I11 a toy gun, the stock and barrel A, the spring B, the catch-leverG, and the rod I, as and for the purpose described.

JOHN B. McHARG.

Witnesses:

B. S. CLARK, A. S. FITCH.

